Wool and the Wolf
by Serena Thorn
Summary: AU - While certain villagers are learning it's dangerous to torment a friend of the wolf's, a still human Rumpelstiltskin is about to learn just how far the friend he's found in Red Riding Hood is willing to go to protect him.


Title: Wool and the Wolf  
Summary: AU - While certain villagers are learning it's dangerous to torment a friend of the wolf's, a still human Rumpelstiltskin is about to learn just how far the friend he's found in Red Riding Hood is willing to go to protect him.  
Rating: PG-13  
Spoilers: 1x15  
Pairing/Characters: Red Riding Hood/Human!Rumpel, Granny, mentions Bae  
Word Count: 8495  
Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time is not owned by me, but by ABC. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: What are these timelines of which you speak? Really, I just wondered how these two might have interacted if they'd been part of the same general time. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

"I hear there was another wolf attack in our neighboring village last night," Granny stated in an almost too matter of fact tone as Red and she sat down to their breakfast.

Red felt her heart all but stop as she caught the look in Granny's eye she knew all too well now. Particularly since she knew the night before had been the first night of the full moon. "Was anyone hurt?" she managed to ask though her sudden worry.

"Two men. They were attacked, but they were not gravely injured," Granny replied, seeing no sense in beating around the bush about it. When Red only gave a slow nod and released the breath she had been holding in her relief, Granny added, "I would say they got what they deserved for being such fools. They should know by now what happens to those who mean to harm a friend of the wolf's."

Red knew then not only exactly what Granny meant, but why she had told her this. By day she was like any other peasant girl, but by night on the three nights of the full moon she was a wolf. Red knew also that wasn't the only reason for this conversation. For the majority of her days and even nights, she was like most young women her age and like most young woman her age, peasant girls or otherwise, she occasionally found herself enthralled with the occasional fellow peasant. However she also often now found herself too shy to admit those feelings, particularly since she had befriended the man. And that man would be the one who often found himself held up to ridicule.

"Some brave wolf I am," Red would mutter to herself out of Granny's earshot. The wolf should have made her bolder, shouldn't it? At least bold enough to help her admit she cared for the man? Instead she found herself feeling she had her first crush all over again. That sense would hit her each time she would venture into the neighboring village to catch sight of the man she could rarely seem to take her mind from anymore.

Even despite Rumpelstiltskin being at least twice her age, he often seemed as shy as she found herself becoming around him. She found it endearing, even if a little odd since she knew he had once been married. Given he didn't know her secret, what about her could make him nervous? she wondered. But then she couldn't remember the last time she had seen his wife, only his son. Still, she considered him a friend, just as Granny did. So much so it quite literally pained her to see how others in the village often treated him. They didn't even care when his son was present; not even the boy being there could keep them from tormenting him.

Red always found herself wanting to say something, to do something, even feeling her inner wolf's anger rising at the sight or stories. But she knew the only thing worse than Rumpelstiltskin not being able to take a stand himself would be to be rescued by a woman. Particularly a peasant girl. It broke her heart to have to take that step back, but she wished to spare him any added embarrassment or pain.

Over the past few months Red had begun to hear more stories of certain villagers being attacked by a wolf. Granny's story today had just been one more to add to that growing list.

"It was ten feet tall! And stronger than any beast before it!" one man claimed. Red only walked on, holding back the urge to roll her eyes. Though she did take the latter claim as a small compliment.

"His claws tore right down to the bone!" another insisted. Absentmindedly, that comment had Red picking carefully at her nails as if she worried there was still blood or skin beneath them.

Still, it was with those claims that Red began to wonder if she hadn't gotten her wish to be a bit bolder after all. None of these men had been attacked in her own village, but rather Rumpelstiltskin's. And none had been attacked so severely they couldn't heal. But all of these men had one definite connection. They had all been men who had in one way or another attempted to shame, mock or harm Rumpelstiltskin.

First the tales had been that the men had been lucky to escape with their lives, others had claimed to know they were lucky to keep their skin. Perhaps they were right, she decided. Though it seemed they had all failed to notice the connection she had thought of almost instantly. She wasn't sure if she should be grateful for that or insulted by it.

Had they not figured it out because they had been too fearful of the wolf to wonder if it could have any true motive? Or had they simply decided the wolf was plain vicious and would attack anyone who got in its way despite not claiming children or even livestock? Or perhaps they had just considered Rumpelstiltskin to be too insignificant to have anyone care about him so much as to defend him.

She guessed she was in luck if any of those were the case. For if anyone knew the truth they would know another truth that she had fought to keep to herself. She hadn't even let herself breathe a word of it to Granny or her few friends in the village.

Did Granny know she liked him, or that she cared for him? Red was sure the answer was yes. She was sure there were few who didn't know it, in fact. Of course she did like him, it was that reason that had her visiting him each day she could. Perhaps it wasn't as easy to talk to him now as it once was, that wonder now ever present in the back of her mind if he knew what she really wished to say to him when they would talk or if he could hear the racing of her heart when his hand would brush hers; but none of that could keep her away.

The question wasn't if Granny knew she cared for Rumpelstiltskin. Rather the questions was if Granny knew that she had come to love him. Red couldn't imagine she did. And that made her thankful. Was it shame she felt that kept her feelings for him hidden? No. Red knew that wasn't even part of it. It was only uncertainty.

What would he want with a girl like her, a girl not only half his age but also a wolf? She knew he would be terrified of the latter, as would anyone in their right mind. And what would Granny say if she ever did find out her granddaughter wished to be with the town coward? Even if Granny considered him a friend as she did, that still didn't imply she would find him to be a suitable match for someone as dear to her as her granddaughter. And what if his wife returned? Or even if she didn't, what about his son? Could Bae accept her in their lives? It all terrified her. Not even just the thoughts, but the fact she was thinking of any of that at all.

However, despite all of those questions and uncertainties, Red had begun to feel sorry she couldn't change at will come nightfall; that she was still dependent on the mere three nights the moon would be full. But for those nights, for as long as she could until Granny or anyone else would catch her slipping out, Red decided she would make the best of it. Even if she would only go out to protect rather than to blindly attack, she still wouldn't let her other fears get the best of her.

It wasn't as though Rumpelstiltskin had anyone else to help him or who even wished to try; save for his son perhaps. His wife had long since left him and he had no other friends to speak of. He only had his son to care for, and Red knew that most of the time he couldn't protect himself or the boy on his own.

Seeing those who were unkind to him showing their cruelty had brought the wolf out in Red all the more. It frightened her, but only because she knew what it meant. True she had never taken kindly to people treating her friends unfairly, but this was so much more. That fact continued to be proven to her each time she felt her anger surge through her at the sight of him being treated in such a way and it made her all too willing to let her instincts take over every night she could let them.

Even if she never let herself kill the men, no matter how deserving she felt some were in those moments, Red was grateful to be able to instill fear in the hearts of those men. Sure they had been left with a few scars they could show off at their taverns and use to gain sympathy from the wenches, but beyond that she hoped they had learned at least a little something from the attacks. Certainly Granny had picked up on it, that it was a danger to so much as speak to a friend of the wolf's as they would.

None had been killed and none had even been left for dead. She had supposed a warning would be best, particularly if she wished to remain alive herself, so the men had been allowed to live. If they wished to remain safe all they would have to do would be to leave the man they seemed rather fond of tormenting alone. And with that, perhaps, neither of her truths would ever have to come out.

It was early one morning of the following month, the sun only just beginning to rise in the distance, when Rumpelstiltskin stepped outside of his cottage to fetch some wood for the oven. Only amongst some brush and leaves, he saw an unfamiliar shape near his cottage. Carefully, he limped closer to find a familiar red cloak lying over something. Someone, he soon realized when he saw her slender form as well as her long dark hair splayed around her head. He could barely see her face, but he was sure it was the Widow Lucas' granddaughter from the neighboring village. There were few things about the girl he could forget, though there were times he fought to try.

Initially it was hard for him to tell from there if she was harmed or if she were only sleeping, but he could see she was breathing. That at least calmed him a bit, hopeful she hadn't been attacked by the wolf that had been seen prowling the night before.

At the sound of leaves, or perhaps straw, crunching beneath a boot, Red stirred. She had only recently realized what a light sleeper she could be. As her eyes focused, she could see she had clearly fallen asleep outdoors again, but she felt her cloak against her skin and was relieved. She was sure she would find her dress somewhere along the path back to Granny's, unless Granny had found it first. But then she caught the sight of boots, and a walking staff. Her heart beginning to beat a bit faster, she lifted her gaze higher until she met the man's dark eyes that were staring back at her.

"Are you hurt, Red?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, unsure why else she would be there, specifically on the ground as she was.

Still sitting there, she shook her head. "No, thank you."

"How long have you been out here?" he asked, his voice ripe with his concern. She certainly looked cold and confused by her surroundings. But at the same time this had been a first. He couldn't begin to imagine why she would have been there, specifically right outside of his home like this. Unless of course her granny had taken ill and she had hoped to stay with him as she had the last time. But wouldn't she have knocked to be let in? he wondered. He guessed she might not have if it had been late and she had feared waking Bae.

"I'm not sure," Red answered, only half-lying. Time did have a habit of getting away from her once the wolf would take over. Glancing back to her cloak, and then back to him, she asked, "Would you mind?" as she indicated for him to turn around as she held her cloak closer to herself.

"Uh, no, of course," he replied, surprised at the implication she may have only been wearing that cloak, but he turned around for her all the same. Though that possibility would do nothing to lessen the fantasies of the girl that had already crept into his mind, and even his dreams. What he wouldn't have given for a dip in the cold lake right then.

Red stood and wrapped the cloak tightly around herself and tied it, hoping nothing was showing that shouldn't have been. This was hardly the way she had hoped to be found, or how she had hoped for him to first see her in any state of undress. "Alright," she told him after another moment.

"You should be careful in these parts, dear," he told her as he turned back to face her. "There is a wolf that has been seen prowling the village at night."

"Wolves don't bother me," she told him with a slight smile. "And from what I hear, she only prowls for a few nights out every month."

"How do you know the wolf is a she?" he asked, curious if the wolf had been spotted in her village as well.

"Doesn't everyone?" Didn't everyone? she wondered. Or had they been all afraid to get that close?

"Perhaps in your village. I suppose here we're more concerned with escaping it than anything else."

"I wouldn't worry too much about her. I'm sure you and your boy will both be safe."

There was a certainty in her hazel eyes that almost startled him. But he said nothing of it. In fact, Red spoke again before he had the chance.

"I apologize if I worried you; I'm really not sure how I ended up here like this. But thank you for waking me; I should go now though, Granny's expecting me," she told him as she began to step away and towards the path she would take to and from her village.

He watched as she began to walk towards the path, seeing her head bowed slightly, walking slowly. It almost seemed she didn't wish to leave but perhaps was because of how embarrassed she had become. He couldn't blame her, it had certainly been an uncomfortable moment for him as well. But as she walked, he could only continue to wonder what she clearly wasn't saying. Why would she think he wouldn't need to worry about the wolf? And what had made her seem downright certain of that?

"Red! Is that you?" Granny called when she heard the door to the cottage swing shut.

"Yes, it's me," she called back, hoping she wouldn't be reprimanded too much or too loudly for this. But then, how would one go about giving a wolf a curfew? She shook her head at the thought, deciding she would rather not find out.

"Good, I was worried. Is there anything I should know?" she asked her as she came into the front room to find Red slightly disheveled, clearly still tired and wearing only her cloak.

Red held the red velvet cloak closer to her body in the hope it would grant her some comfort. "I don't know about last night, but this morning I woke up outside of Rumpelstiltskin's home."

"Did he see you? Does he know?" Granny asked, already afraid she would have to find someone to take Red from the village, to find her another place to go.

Quickly she shook her head. "He saw me, and we spoke, but he doesn't know. I think he first thought the wolf had gotten me." He had certainly seemed worried enough, she decided. The idea made her heart flutter for a moment, thinking he might care for her even slightly as much as she cared for him. Of course she sobered at the thought that even if he did it might not be in the same way.

"Good. That's good," Granny insisted, interrupting Red's reverie. "You let him think that the wolf almost got you, or that you chose to hide there from the wolf. But this has to stop. You were lucky today he didn't see you earlier than he did, that he didn't see you changing. Now I know you don't want to hear this, as it's clear you care for Rumpelstiltskin in your own way. But though you may feel sorry for him, going to his village and attacking those men makes you vulnerable. It's foolish and dangerous and I will not stand for it any longer."

"You think I feel sorry for him? And you won't stand for it?" Red asked, her eyes widening slightly, unable to believe what she was hearing. Yes she had cut it close this morning, but that was hardly reason enough for her to turn her back on him, even just in that sense.

"That's right," Granny told her, beginning to lose her patience.

"Rumpelstiltskin has no one to help him, no one to protect him. He barely has anyone to care for him at all. You would have me abandon him?"

"As a grown man he should be able to handle those things on his own. And I think now it's time that you let him do just that."

"Just because he possibly could doesn't mean he should have to when he can't defend himself like someone like me could," Red countered.

"No, Red. We will not argue about this. My mind is made up. You will not return to that village in your other form. You're lucky I don't forbid you from seeing him at all after this. And your childish behavior in this as well as you fighting me here could give one ideas that your interest in him goes deeper than your friendship. Need I remind you that he is a married man who is old enough to be your father?"

Red glanced away for a moment, willing her breathing to remain even. Not only was she getting angrier, but Granny was right. Red's days of seeing Rumpelstiltskin as a mere friend had long since passed.

"And as for that friendship, do you honestly think he would not abandon you or it if he knew your truth?" Granny went on.

Red's eyes fell to the floor then. That had been one of her bigger fears. Still, she replied, "At least then he would have the choice. He's already had one woman abandon him without warning, I won't be another." With that she headed to her room, somehow managing to close her door without slamming it.

After a few hours, with more than a few of the more troubling scenarios playing in her mind as she laid atop her bed, Red finally decided that she had calmed down enough to go for a walk. One that, as usual, found her walking right back into the neighboring village and to an all familiar cottage. Red wasn't even entirely sure what she was doing back there already or if she even planned to speak to him, much less what she planned to say, but she wished at least to see him.

As he often did, he looked lost in his thoughts as he worked, Red able to see him at his spinning wheel as he had left his door open for some reason. Had he been expecting her? Or had he been waiting for his son to return either with supplies or from visiting with his own friend? She guessed either could be possible. But what she didn't expect was to see Rumpelstiltskin lift his head up and spot her staring.

"Red?" he asked, the contrast between the dim firelight of his home against the brightness of the day outside making him wonder if it wasn't his mind playing a trick on him. Particularly since she didn't seem to be wearing her famous cloak.

"Hi," she smiled through her sudden nervousness and embarrassment as she stepped closer to his door. So much for stealth being on her side, she decided.

"What brings you back so soon?" He was happy to see her, though he had to admit she didn't look any more comfortable than she had that morning.

"Truthfully? Granny. I just had to get away for a while, and I found myself here."

"As you always do," he smiled. She always did seem to find her way back to his door. "And as always, you've come to the right place. You are welcome as long as you need."

"Thank you," she told him as she stepped inside and took a seat in one of the chairs across from him.

"Would you care to tell me what's made your granny so impossible to stay with today?" he asked as he returned to spinning, a hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. This was hardly the first time she had sought a sort of refuge with him and he was sure it wouldn't be the last.

"I told her about this morning, and she wants to be sure it won't happen again. I don't think she wants me spending so much time in your village anymore. She didn't put it in those words, of course, but I do think that's what she meant."

"I suppose I can't claim to be surprised," he admitted. It saddened him, particularly the idea of seeing her less as she was certainly his closest friend, but it didn't surprise him. Surely the old woman would wish for Red to be spending time either with men closer to her own age, or perhaps at least away from the town coward for fear it tainting her own reputation. Still, he kept his voice light at he added, "But perhaps it's for the best, so you won't need to worry about the wolf any longer yourself."

That got Red to look back up at him. He seemed distracted again, or perhaps that's just what he wanted her to see. "I told you wolves don't bother me. They never have."

"But there could be a first time. Your granny wishes to look out for you, perhaps you should let her."

"I don't need people to look out for me, not even Granny, I realized that a while ago. And there are some wolves who choose to protect humans, I believe the wolf you've seen is one of those." She was scared to tell him any of this, even to partially admit what she was, but she didn't want him to fear her either. She couldn't even let herself think of Granny then. Granny may not have wanted their secret out, and neither did she entirely, but she trusted Rumpelstiltskin. And even if he did repeat it, who would believe him? She cursed herself for that thought, but it was sadly true.

"Are you saying the wolf is protecting you?" he asked, curious. Could that be how she had been so sure the wolf meant them no harm?

"I would say it seems she's looking out for you, wishing to protect you and your son. I've heard of the men she's attacked. I hear they have all been unkind to you in some way."

How could she know that? he wondered. It wasn't particularly a secret he wasn't well thought of in the village, but how could she know the specific men who seemed to say or do the worst things? Unless... Could the gossip be true? Could the wolf also be a person? He looked to her again, thinking how he had found her asleep on the ground that morning, clad only in her cloak, knowing what seemingly no one else could. Finally he couldn't keep his questions silent any longer and asked, "How is it you know so much of the wolf? Or that she seems to be protecting me?"

Red took a deep breath. She knew she couldn't deny it any longer; it had been too exhausting to keep this from him this long as it was and now he was likely to doubt her if she didn't admit it. "You've heard the rumors, I trust? Of how the wolf may also be a person?" She was sure he had, most hadn't been able to stop talking about it since those tracks had been found. Huntsmen and their wolf companions were one thing, but those tracks would often not be so in line with one another, the wolves likely to the huntsmen's sides. Her tracks had never been like those.

He nodded. When she was silent, it began to sink in. "Are you saying -"

She held her hand up. "Please, don't say it. But yes. That's how I know she doesn't mean you harm, how I know she means only to protect you and your boy. And now I must beg you not to repeat it. Or perhaps say it at all."

"I won't," he promised, still in disbelief. "But why? Why come here? Why protect me?"

"It's not something I can completely control." It was true, the first times she had no idea where she had been headed, but every time she found herself in his village, near him, guarding him. "But as Granny tells it, it's dangerous to mean harm to a friend of the wolf's. It seems she's right."

"Because you consider me a friend, you've done this?" He couldn't help but be more than a little afraid, even a little horrified, but she seemed worried herself. And he did care for the girl, so the fact she seemed to care so much for him in return was at least enough to keep him curious enough to continue to ask her these questions.

Red nodded, feeling tears sting her eyes at the thought he would order her out of his home and potentially his life. "Even as the wolf my instincts led me here to help you. I can't control anything I do in that form, but clearly even then the wolf may as well be your pet. Even she wishes only to protect you and to be near you."

"Even she?" he asked, beginning to pick up on her meaning. "You mean you, as yourself, wish only to be near me as well?"

Red smiled, feeling her cheeks warming in her embarrassment once more. But then she nodded. "It's why I keep finding myself back here. No matter my form, somehow I always find myself either here or wishing I were here."

"What of your granny? Does she know of this?" Now he was really beginning to worry. He knew her granny's temper well, though he had thankfully never been on the receiving end of it, and Red already told him she believed her granny had wished her to begin to stay away from his village and likely him.

Red nodded again. "I'm sure it's why she wishes for me to stay away now. She thought I was lucky this morning that you didn't find me sooner, before I had returned to how you see me now. I didn't even mean to tell you all of this, I just wanted you to know there's at least one wolf you never need fear. But if in knowing this now you wish me gone, I'll understand."

In truth Rumpelstiltskin wasn't sure what he wanted. Answers, he seemed to have though he could hardly believe them. And yes he was still a bit afraid and even a bit shocked by all of Red had confessed to him. But at the same time he could see it in her face and in her eyes that she looked as though that brave facade she was attempting to maintain would crumble if he even claimed he wished her to leave him. Having known more than enough sadness to ever wish to inflict it on someone who seemed to care this deeply for him, he told her, "No. You're still welcome to stay. But I admit this wasn't what I expected."

"Because I seem to be such a nice, normal girl?" she asked, a bitter chuckle escaping her throat.

"Perhaps," he admitted. "But I suppose it's also because I never expected this kind of help or care from anyone. Certainly not in more recent years."

"Now that you have it, do you think you can accept it?" Granny's words were coming back to her then, terrifying her that he would say no, and that this would cause him to distance himself from her.

He thought about it for a moment. Yes, the prospect of having a wolf so close to his home and son was still a bit frightening; but as the wolf had been spotted for months and the closest she had come to him was his door, she clearly meant them no harm. In fact, since realizing she was the wolf he actually felt a bit safer. At least the wolf was someone who cared for him, he decided. "I do," he answered finally. "It might take some getting used to, but yes, I can accept it. However, I must make one request."

With her heart pounding, the worst case scenarios all rushing back into her mind, she asked, "Alright. What is it?"

"That you return come nightfall, if you can. Even if there's no need for you to tonight, I would wish to see you."

"It's a deal," Red laughed, immediately overcome with relief that he wished for her to still return. She wouldn't question why or how he could even still look at her the same, she was only thankful he did.

In keeping her word, Red returned to the village almost as soon as Granny had decided to go to bed. She knew if she had been awake Granny would know exactly where she was headed and if there was one night she didn't wish to risk that, it was tonight. Also, Granny had said she wasn't to return as the wolf and right then she had no plans to. It may have been a technicality, but Red chose to embrace it all the same as she was following that technical rule.

Thinking back to Rumpelstiltskin's words and knowing he was right, that it had been quiet lately and that there didn't seem to be much need for the wolf, Red kept her cloak on and walked as herself to his home. She guessed that was part of what he meant by wanting to see her, that he wished to see her as herself rather than the wolf. She didn't mind. The wolf never got to enjoy his actual company. Instead the wolf found herself having to be content to merely sit or rest outside of his home, that being as close to him as she could be while she had to be ready to strike at a moment's notice if she recognized any of the more unkind villagers attempting to come near him or his son.

But tonight, in her human form, she was soon at his door, still musing over the fact he had asked her to come. She didn't even worry about there being huntsmen or woodsmen awaiting her, she was sure she could have sniffed them out if they had been near. Instead she knew she had been right in that she could trust him.

"Red," he smiled when he greeted her at the door. He hadn't expected her quite this way, more expecting to find the wolf at his door and find her outside come morning again. But he was happy to see her all the same.

"I hope you don't mind that it isn't the wolf here tonight," she told him, a bit of her nervousness creeping back.

"No, not at all," he assured her. "I only wish there was some way I could repay you for all of this."

Red shook her head. "You already have by not telling the others what you know of me. Walking back into the village tonight, I could see nothing had changed in their eyes."

"I told you I wouldn't say anything. Truthfully, I could never do that to someone who would go to such lengths to protect me or my boy."

Red smiled and gave a short nod, a bit overcome by his words. "Thank you," she told him before she placed a hand at his shoulder and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

Rumpelstiltskin's eyes closed at that, wishing to memorize the feel of her soft lips against his skin for as long as he could. Even if it was meant innocently, it had been so long since he had been granted even that. When she pulled back and looked to him again, he asked, "Would you care to come in?"

"Come in?" she asked, unsure she could have heard him right.

He gave a single nod. "It seems rude of me not to offer with the chill in the air and that ground easily being quite unforgiving. Also, if you wish to stay the night again, I think you would find it nicer inside than out." He wished to talk to her, to really speak to her, but he hadn't been sure how to go about it in the mornings when she was clearly still tired and seemed to only wish to be away.

Red nodded and stepped inside before she realized she had even thought of it. After all it didn't seem the wolf needed to prowl tonight. Perhaps instead the girl could spend a night as her human self with the man she had found herself wishing she could spend every night with.

"I thought you might prefer this," he told her as she took the seat across from him once he led her inside. Bringing his voice down as Bae slept in the room mere feet from them, he added, "There is even a bed you could sleep in tonight in place of that spot on the ground, if you would prefer."

"When have you seen me sleeping atop an actual bed?" Red asked, her own voice barely above a whisper, her lips spilling out into a grin a second later. She appreciated the offer, but she was a little curious as to the reason for it. She also didn't wish to put him out.

Rumpelstiltskin tried not to laugh, but she was right. However he quickly turned more serious and asked, "How many nights have you spent sleeping out there?"

"Simply outside or outside of your door in particular?"

"Outside of my door."

Red's eyes fell slightly then, embarrassed, fearing he would hope this would be the last night she would be there at all. "For three nights out of every month the full moon shines, and it's on those nights, if I'm not wearing my cloak, that I change. I think I've spent every single one of those outside of your home for no less than four full moons now."

"Why? Why choose my door?" He couldn't help the question, he couldn't begin to imagine the answer. Why would a girl such as herself, one with such power come to him? Why would she wish to help someone like him?

Red met his eyes again. "Because you don't deserve to be treated how you are. The others here see you as someone weak and even insignificant, but I see your kindness. I can even see your bravery."

He nearly scoffed. "I'm not brave," he insisted.

"Was that not you rushing to get your son inside before yourself when you would see the wolf?"

"That's different. He's all I have."

"You have yourself, too. You have yourself to worry about, yourself to save when you believe you're in danger. A true coward would have even let his son fend for himself, but you didn't. You protected him first. And still, even when you feared me in my other form, even when you ran from me, you could have called for a woodsman. You could have had me killed. But you didn't. You ran, yes, and you protected your son and yourself from what you thought was an animal who meant you harm. You couldn't know I meant only to help you. Or, truthfully, to be near you."

"But why me?" He still couldn't understand it.

"When I become the wolf, my instincts, whatever they may be at the time, take over. If I'm hungry, I feed and when I awake to the scene I tend to leave, I hate myself and what I am. Even if it's only sheep. But when there's something else I want, companionship, a friend, I go to where I hope I'll be welcome."

"Is that why you come here? For... a friend?" Now it was at least beginning to make sense to him.

"You could say so. Most often now it seems, what I find myself wanting is to be close to someone, someone in particular in a village close to my own. It's that reason that he keeps finding me at his door, and it's him I've entrusted with my secret. It's also why as the wolf I will attack anyone who chooses to attack him even with a word. And I must admit, even if I could control that aspect, I don't think I would."

Rumpelstiltskin couldn't believe what she was telling him. She had come solely to protect him and his son and had been for every night she could for the past several months? She wished to keep him as a friend? And she wished to inflict damage on those who meant to hurt him even with just their words? He didn't know what to say. if he could let himself think it possible, he may have wondered if this meant she loved him.

Red made it easier for him by speaking first, "If you wish me to leave now, I will. But since you asked, I wanted to give you the truth. It isn't easy though, for the longest time I couldn't even bring myself to speak to you. That was where the wolf's instincts to come here came into play."

"I understand. Most would wish to not speak to me." It pained him to admit it, but it was true.

"No, it wasn't that. I wished to speak to you, there was so much I wanted to say. But I guess I was too shy. Maybe that's one reason I should be thankful for my other form, wolves aren't known for their shyness."

"What was it you wished to say to me then? Since you seem to be doing so well now, at least."

Red smiled for a moment. "I suppose I could tell you now, after everything else I've admitted tonight. The reason, the real reason my instincts would lead me here, why I wish to protect you and your son, why I wish to be near you... They're all the same. Ever since I came to live with my granny I would see you, and you were never like the others. You were never cruel, and seeing how lonely you seemed broke my heart. I realize there's still much I don't know about you, but all the same, I've come to care for you. A great deal, actually."

He blinked. It surprised him how much that explained about all of this. "So when you said you didn't mind sleeping outside -"

"It was because it meant that I was still close to you," she interrupted. "No matter how cold the nights have been, or how many times my cloak has slipped, or even how many times I've risked being seen or being discovered as the wolf, all I've cared about is you."

"Me?" Part of him wanted to ask her if she loved him, or if she thought she even potentially could, but he decided against it. Who could ever love him?

She nodded. "Ever since that first day, when I saw you gathering wood outside of your cottage when I'd gone to fetch some water for Granny; I think that was the day I fell in love with you."

"All this time?" he all but whispered in his seemingly endless surprise. It had been years since then! Now he was wondering if he was dreaming. Everything she was telling him was almost more unbelievable than the last.

"I wished so much to say it, so many times. But I was afraid. I was sure you would see me as some naive girl, one likely too young for you and send me on my way. Or, worse, that you would know me as the wolf and either be more afraid of me or have me put down by a woodsman's ax."

"No," he breathed. "I may have been afraid, you may be right about that. In fact, I could guarantee it. But, no, I would never wish to see you hurt. You have nothing to fear from me."

"I know that now. Just as I hope you know that of me in return."

"I do," he assured her. And, really, he decided he did. He was sure there were a thousand things she could have done in her wolf form, but truly she had done nothing but protect him. How could he be any less than grateful? Or presume the worst?

That made Red smile, and in her relief she couldn't stop her hand as it slowly came up to gently rest at his cheek. She wasn't sure why, but she just felt the need to touch him, to prove to herself this was still real. She had imagined similar scenarios so many times, but in her mind none had gone quite like this. "Thank you for trusting me," she told him finally.

Unsure of how else to respond, he told her, "Thank you for caring for me," as he leaned slightly into her warm touch. It still stunned him, all of these confessions pouring out of her and the fact she did seem to care so deeply for him. But at the same time he was still a bit afraid. Not of her or her power per se, but more of what he was realizing he felt for her in return. She was a beautiful girl, none would deny that, and he had certainly noticed. But he had also presumed she could never feel for him what he had often found himself wishing she would. Only now, as his eyes met hers again, that fear was being replaced by thinking he may lose her if she gave in to her granny's wishes to spend less time in his village or with him.

"You make it simple," she replied. It was rather true in her mind. So many in his village were crass and cruel, so many in her own village seemed to only wish to possess her rather than care for her. But she had found Rumpelstiltskin to be so different from those norms. Instead he had greeted her with warm smiles in place of leers, and when he had invited her into his home it had been merely to talk or because she wished to help him in some way. And still he had never taken advantage of her or her kind nature. However there had been a few times, in her weaker moments, she had wished he had. Even so, the fact he hadn't only made her feelings for him deepen. With that in mind, she found herself leaning further into him, her fingertips stroking the side of his neck just below his ear.

With her face a mere inch from his own, realizing then what she was clearly about to do, Rumpelstiltskin couldn't help but quietly admit, "It's been a long time since I've kissed anyone."

"It's okay," she replied with a soft smile. She didn't move, not even to lower her hand. She wasn't pulling away, but she also wasn't moving any closer. She hadn't kissed anyone herself since Peter, almost a year ago, but she wouldn't rush him. She had waited this long, surely she could let herself wait a little longer.

Rumpelstiltskin wasn't sure what he had expected her to do after his own confession, but her still looking at him with that same lust and sincerity in her eye and that same sweet, caring smile hadn't quite been it. Not because he doubted her, but only because it was something he had yet to become used to.

Finally lowering her hand and sitting back, she asked, "Would you like me to go so you can get some rest?" She was sure it was getting late, clearly Bae had long since been asleep himself, and after this she wouldn't blame Rumpelstiltskin if he wished for her to go.

"You keep asking if I wish you to go," he told her, almost giving a laugh in his disbelief.

"I guess it's easy to think the worst when you're scared," she told him, her nerves getting the better of her once more.

"You needn't be afraid, dear. And no, I don't wish you to leave." In fact he hadn't even wished her to sit back in her seat. He couldn't be sure he was ready for this, to let himself admit he had truly begun to care for the girl and even crave her touch. But the fact she had offered to leave, to give him the space he hadn't mean to imply he wanted made all the difference. She hadn't moved to close the gap between them and she hadn't taken his confession as an invitation. That was all the proof he needed to know just how much she must have in fact cared for him.

"You should rest though. I'm sure you have an early day ahead of you."

He nodded. "I do, as I'm sure you do as well. But, if I can help it, I won't have the woman who loves me sleeping out on that cold, unforgiving ground."

"Where would you have me sleep?" she asked, a small smile playing across her lips. He had mentioned a bed for her, but so far she had only seen Bae asleep in his own.

With a smile, Rumpelstiltskin reached for his walking staff to stand and offered his other hand to Red.

Without a word she took it and stood herself, letting him lead her further into the cottage towards what she presumed to be his bedroom. A mere beige curtain separated the room from the rest of the cottage, but it didn't seem he needed much more than that.

"I hope this is at least acceptable," he told her, unsure exactly how she might react to the implication. He hadn't even kissed her when she had seemed to wish for him to and now he was sure she would think he meant they would be laying together here.

Red only looked to him before answering, "It's near you. That's all I've wanted this whole time. But I also have no intention of kicking a man out of his own bed."

"No?" Perhaps she was more alright with this implication than he had imagined.

She shook her head. "We're both here, we both need our rest and there seems to be room for us both. There's no reason it can't be as simple as that."

Deciding she was right, and without either of them disrobing really at all, Red not even removing her cloak, they climbed into his bed.

With the candles blown out and Red lying just in front of him, Rumpelstiltskin couldn't help but take a moment to attempt to memorize everything about this that he could for fear this illusion would come crashing down as soon as the sun rose.

Within the past day he had learned Red Riding Hood was the wolf who had been seen in his village and she had been protecting him, and she had said it was out of her love for him. And now here she still was with him, even seemingly willing to defy her granny's wishes that she spend less time with him.

Slowly, he curled his free arm around her slim waist and breathed in the sweet scent of her hair as she nuzzled back into him. He couldn't be sure which of them was finding more comfort or enjoyment in this apparent embrace. It had been years since he had lain in bed with a woman, in fact longer than he had kissed one. But Red certainly seemed happy here and if this was where she wished to remain, he would be happy to continue to welcome her.

"You were right," Red told him with a soft smile, letting her fingertips gently stroke the back of his hand still at her middle.

"About what?"

She turned her head to look at him. "This is much better than sleeping outside."

When he saw her smile at him again, seeing her clear contentment, Rumpelstiltskin could only think to ask her, "Would you still wish for me to kiss you?"

"Always," she all but whispered. Of all the confessions she had made to him tonight, she felt that might have been the easiest one of all. True it would likely lead her to defying Granny again in the very near future, this sure to also lead to her spending yet more time in Rumpelstiltskin's village.

But Granny knowing the truth of why, knowing that it really was because she cared for him much more deeply than as a friend, didn't frighten her so much anymore. Not now that Rumpelstiltskin knew it for himself as well and that he hadn't turned his back on her or their friendship as she had feared; and also certainly not when she finally felt his surprisingly soft lips pressed to her own and she quickly reciprocated in kind.

For the final night of this full moon, Red wouldn't have to be reminded to keep her cloak on, nor would she have to worry of awakening to more stories of other men being attacked. Rather she was content that the morning sun wouldn't find her on a bed of straw, but rather still at the side of the man she loved, the man who she had trusted enough to confide in and who had been happy to welcome her back into his home.

The End


End file.
